Other Words from malleable

Synonyms for malleable

Choose the Right Synonym for malleable

plastic, pliable, pliant, ductile, malleable, adaptable mean susceptible of being modified in form or nature. plastic applies to substances soft enough to be molded yet capable of hardening into the desired fixed form.
plastic materials allow the sculptor greater freedom pliable suggests something easily bent, folded, twisted, or manipulated.
pliable rubber tubing pliant may stress flexibility and sometimes connote springiness.
an athletic shoe with a pliant sole ductile applies to what can be drawn out or extended with ease.
ductile metals such as copper malleable applies to what may be pressed or beaten into shape.
the malleable properties of gold adaptable implies the capability of being easily modified to suit other conditions, needs, or uses.
computer hardware that is adaptable

Did You Know?

There is a hint about the origins of "malleable" in its first definition. The earliest uses of the word, which first appeared in English in the 14th century, referred primarily to metals that could be reshaped by beating with a hammer. The Middle English word malliable comes to us from Medieval Latin malleabilis, which in turn derives from the Latin verb malleare, meaning "to hammer." "Malleare" itself was created from the Latin word for "hammer": "malleus." If you have guessed that "maul" and "mallet," other English words for specific types of hammers, can also be traced back to "malleus," you have hit the nail on the head.

Examples of malleable in a Sentence

The brothers Warner presented a flexible, malleable world that defied Newton, a world of such plasticity that anything imaginable was possible.— Billy Collins, Wall Street Journal, 28–29 June 2008At each landing the villagers had carved the wonderfully malleable silt into staircases, terraces, crenellations, and ziggurats.— Kenneth Brower, National Geographic Traveler, March 2000The boy seemed to me possessed by a blind, invalid arrogance, and every human being, as his eye flicked over or flinched against them, became, immediately, as malleable as his mother and his father.— James Baldwin, The Evidence of Things Not Seen, 1985
the cult leader took advantage of the malleable, compliant personalities of his followers

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'malleable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.